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BEYONCE called in a concert
for a moment of silence for
Trayvon Martin, rapper
Young Jeezy released a song
in Martin's memory and
Russell Simmons called for
peace after George
Zimmerman was acquitted
by a Florida jury in the
death of the teenager.
There was a wide range of
reactions by celebrities after
jurors cleared Zimmerman
late Saturday of all charges in
the 2012 shooting death of the
unarmed 17-year-old Martin.
Beyonce took a moment to
honor Martin during her Mrs
Carter Show World Tour
concert at Bridgestone Arena
in Nashville, Tennesse. Her
concert started about 30
minutes after the Zimmerman
verdict began to circulate.
"I'd like to have a moment of
silence for Trayvon," the pop
star said as the stage grew
dark with just a few key lights
shining.
Beyonce then sang the chorus
of "I Will Always Love You," a
song, fittingly given the
location, written by country
music star Dolly Parton and
brought to a global audience
by the late Whitney Houston,
before transitioning into her
hit "Halo."
It was just one of several
reactions from celebrities and
artists following
Zimmerman's acquittal by a
six-woman jury. Much of it
focused on the perceived
outrage of the situation. But
others had more poignant
responses.
Young Jeezy posted a new
song, "It's a Cold World (A
Tribute to Trayvon Martin),"
to his Facebook page with a
comment: "I am in no way
shape, form, or fashion ...
trying to capitalize off of the
latest series of events. These
are my true feelings and my
form of expression about it."
Simmons, a producer and
entrepreneur, posted a blog
entry that said he'd be
supporting the Trayvon
Martin Foundation in helping
to repeal laws like Florida's
Stand Your Ground law. He
signed off, "God bless you
little brother. Rest in peace."
He also called for those upset
with the verdict to channel
their energy away from
violence on Twitter, telling
followers "we must remain
peaceful. No matter what,
remain peaceful."
For the most part, it appeared
protesters did with few reports
of damage late Saturday and
early Sunday in Tallahassee,
Florida, Atlanta and
California.
"If u have any anger this
evening," Simmons wrote on
Twitter, "put that energy into
challenging these horrible
laws that allow overly-
anxious neighborhood
watchmen to carry guns and
shoot innocent people. "
